for display purposes there is just no way I can swing the bike, but I sure as heck pre-ordered Kaneda. He has been on my "grail" list for a long time. Medicom has made me happy lately what with the Captain Harlock and now Kaneda. Two figures that were nigh on impossible to find let alone afford six months ago...

Now if I could just talk them into reissuing their Andy Warhol...oh well...

The folks over at Sideshow Collectibles have a preorder up for the bike ($420.00) and Kaneda ($200). Interestingly enough these are the first pictures I have seen with markings on the bike. The preorder says something about and exclusive cowling and decal set....weird...

Also, HLJ just put the bike up on preorder, and this time the (usually miniscule) 5% preorder discount actually amounts to something pretty significant, which says more about the toy's price than anything else. For those in CA, taxes alone make ordering through Sideshow pretty pricey.

Nope not tampo printed....The title on the Sideshow page is "Kaneda's Bike with bonus Cowling and Decal Set." Which seems to imply that the markings are simply decals...as a matter of fact the product photography shows no markings...

Gcrush Wrote:
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> Tampo-printed bumper stickers on a 1/6 scale bike
> would look like crap. There wouldn't be enough
> depth or creasing to look right. They made the
> right move by using "real" stickers.

Actually, that does make perfect sense. These mini bumper stickers are actually the anime-accurate way to go.

And now it is days later and like a dumbass I realize that I didn't include the link to the pictures...AND I am too busy right now to sift through the toysdaily forum to re-find them...just know that they are indeed cool and include a picture of a mysterious audio out plug that apparently lets you plug the bike into speakers to make it louder....weird...

Seeing as all the body panels come off it wouldn't be hard to paint the inside black...Yeah I know for almost $400 I shouldn't have to do a damn thing to it, but I am so amazed that such a monstrosity exists at all I can overlook a little...

Scopedog Wrote:
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> Seriously, how does this thing steer or absorb
> shock? The Garland and Mospeada also seem
> impossible to steer.

Gyroscopic displacement?

Or like this:

Seriously though, I remember reading an article somewhen about a 1:1 scale model for Akira's premiere being built, and the engineers/hobbyists having a terrible time making the thing. However, as evidenced by companies like Suzuki and Feet Forward (http://negatendo.net/kmc/en_frame.htm), it is possible.

As for the 1:6 Bandai toy having horrible light bleeding, I can say that the best thing to do would be to line the inner covers with an easily workable opaque material like tinfoil. Black paint won't cut it. Not with those bright LEDS under. Beleive me - I've been lighting a model display for ages and lightbleed is a pain. Tinfoil is providing a cheap and relatively easy solution.

sp i picked up two of these for the different cowls, the box is huge and the thing is really heavy. I think this box might be the biggest box that Bandai has made for a chogokin. IT is definitely one of the heaviest. Too bad there is no handle.

It puts to shame all of the older toys made of the bike. The cost is steep, but hink of it as a daigokin version of the bike versus the original SoC which would be the regular version of the toy. It truly is one of those pieces that is a wonder. Props to the guy who greenlighted the project. I am sure this toy is not a huge money maker for Bandai, as the market for this stuff has got to be small.

I got my Bike and Kanada himself from Hobby Link Japan over the weekend. The bike is, bar none, one of favorite toys, if not my favorite toy, of all time. You can hook the damn think up to external speakers and rock the engine noise. It's a BEAUTIFUL piece. While you could go crazy with the cowls and extra stickers, emulating the cover of seperate box they come it...I prefer to simulate the look of the bike from the actual film.

Man, it certainly looks great on a shelf racing the Hot Toys Batman on his Batpod.

Just got back from spring break to find this bad boy and the accompanying Kaneda sitting on my desk...To be brief, Both of them are perfect. Everything you may have seen about or read about them are true. I just can't believe that these exist...and that they are now on my shelf...Now the wait for Tetsuo begins...

Cohiba: It is indeed a shame that there is no handle on the box...I agree with you in that there is no way there is a large profit margin on these.

RMBurnett: You got this and the Batpod on one shelf...Must be a hell of a big shelf...where is the picture of that...?